Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 1997 Apr;26(4):794-7.
doi: 10.1016/s0168-8278(97)80244-9.

High prevalence and coinfection rate of hepatitis G and C infections in intravenous drug addicts

I Diamantis  1 , S Bassetti, P Erb, D Ladewig, K Gyr, M Battegay
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

High prevalence and coinfection rate of hepatitis G and C infections in intravenous drug addicts

I Diamantis et al. J Hepatol. 1997 Apr.

Abstract

Background/aims: The hepatitis G virus is a newly discovered RNA virus which is possibly transmitted parenterally. Hepatitis G virus is associated with acute or chronic hepatitis and may lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer, characteristics shared by the hepatitis C virus. Hepatitis C virus is prevalent in drug users, but the frequency and role of hepatitis G virus is not yet well established.

Methods: One hundred and seventeen heavy i.v. drug users were enrolled in a prospective, controlled, randomized study for i.v. administration of heroin and/or methadone. Hepatitis G virus was detected using a hot start polymerase chain reaction followed by an ELISA polymerase chain reaction assay. Hepatitis C virus genotyping was done using the Inno-Lipa strip assay.

Results: Hepatitis G virus infection was detected in 35% (41/117) of the study population and hepatitis C virus infection in 95.7% (112/117). Ninety-seven percent of hepatitis G virus positive patients were coinfected with hepatitis C virus, of whom 75% were infected with hepatitis C virus genotype 3a. This genotype was prevalent in 48.3% of patients infected with hepatitis C virus alone. The presence or absence of hepatitis G virus infection had no influence on chronic hepatitis. Twenty-two percent of patients who started injecting heroin before 1980 and 40% of those who started after 1980 were hepatitis G virus positive. Overall, 16 patients were infected with human immunodeficiency virus, six were coinfected with hepatitis G virus and hepatitis C virus, and 10 only with hepatitis C virus.

Conclusions: Hepatitis G virus infection is highly prevalent in i.v. drug users, but less frequent than hepatitis C virus infection. The fact that all but two patients were coinfected with hepatitis C virus, 75% with one genotype, supports a common route of transmission for both viruses. The course of hepatitis C virus infection is not altered by hepatitis G virus infection.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types